


Until You Return

by epersonae



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Episode: e060-066 The Stolen Century Parts 1-7, Except when it's not, M/M, in the stolen century death is just another tuesday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-21 00:03:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14272455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epersonae/pseuds/epersonae
Summary: Magnus leaves. He doesn’t come back, until he does. Taako copes as best he can in the meantime. Also, mushroom is a bad flavor for hard candy.





	Until You Return

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nekosd43](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekosd43/gifts).



> Happy birthday, dear. As always, The Magcretia Crew raises a glass to Team Taagnus.

They leave in a blaze of hilarity, none more enthusiastic than Magnus, strapping two flamethrowers to his arms as you tucked a bag of hard candies into his pack. Magnus loves his hard candies, and it was one of the first things you figured out how to make for him, way back when the original supply ran out. In eight years you’ve always been able to find some source of sugar, and a little transmutation magic gets those bright colors Magnus prefers. 

Magnus grins and waves as the Starblaster takes off, leaving you and Merle with the people of Fungston. “Be back in a few,” is the last thing he says.

The others come back with the Light, but no Magnus. Magnus’s stuff: the flamethrowers, the pack, the bag of hard candies. But no Magnus.

“Sorry, bud,” says Barry, as he hands you the Light for your research.

“Fuckin’ sucks,” says Lup. You know all the other things in those words that she’s not saying.

Davenport doesn’t say anything, just looks stern, disappointed. Tired.

You find Lucretia in the galley, scrubbing down every surface. She looks up from her work with hollow eyes. “Who dies for hard candy?” she asks, a burr of bitter loss in her voice. You say his name in unison. You make more hard candies, in between your work on making a facsimile of the Light.

It doesn’t really work, not that you thought it would, but it was worth a shot. Anything’s worth trying once, and he’ll be back, just that  _ few _ is longer than you’d hoped. You watch the Hunger go for your decoy and then pull back, and well, at least you gave the folks who had been your gracious hosts a little break, at least he’s coming back soon.

And he’s back, you’re all back, everything is where it was, your hand in Lup’s, and as soon as you see him — that stupid black eye — you and she both throw your arms around him, twin-hug-best-hug, Barry welcomes him back, Merle pats him on the hip, Davenport nods sternly. You let him go; you don’t want to let him go. 

And Lucretia slaps him, which after the last few weeks is shocking but not surprising. As she stalks off you slip an arm in his, murmur, “She’ll come around my dude, no worries.” He looks after her with hurt in his eyes. “I’ll talk to her,” you say, and you will, although mostly to just listen as she rants. She just needs someone to listen.

But that’s a problem for future Taako. Right now, you’ve got his arm in yours and he’s right here big and warm and alive and you don’t want to let him go. Then again, you don’t want to look  _ needy _ , heaven forbid.

“Hard candy?” you say as you walk him towards the kitchen. He laughs and it’s such a big warm sound.

“Before breakfast?” he says, even though you don’t even know what time it is, or rather, you haven’t settled on a place where time will begin to tick down, inevitably, inexorably. “I missed pancakes.”

“Shoulda kept your mask on, dingus,” and he has the good grace to look embarrassed again. But you start pulling out the supplies you saved up just so you could make everybody pancakes on the first day, even if you have to transmute some more of that awful mushroom flour into eggs. He leans against the counter and watches. You missed that, too.

Of course he takes a candy out of the bowl, despite the pancake batter you’re stirring. 

“Mushroom is a bad flavor for candy,” he mumbles around the candy still in his mouth.

“Whatta you gonna do,” you say absent-mindedly. Even doing something dumb like eating mushroom-flavored candy when there’s pancakes in progress, he’s gorgeous and charming and damn it’s just good to see his big dumb face.

He moves around the countertop and puts his arm around you. You lean into him as you pour batter on the sizzling-hot griddle. Everyone else will be here in just a moment, as soon as the aroma wafts down the hall. You look at him and he looks tender, almost sad.

“Sorry I was such a dumbass,” he says.

“Hey big guy,” and you shake your head. “Don’t. Just….” You don’t know what to say. You missed him, but you’re not going to tell him that. Instead, you kiss him, quickly, before the others come in. They don’t need to know you’re a sap.

“I missed you too,” he says, his voice the softest rumble in your ear, and then he’s taking out plates and the others are filing in, and it’s breakfast in a new universe and everyone is here.

**Author's Note:**

> Because I can't help myself, this refers to two bits from my earlier work: [Clean, Chapter 2](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11472024/chapters/25725774) and [Parallel](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12898857).


End file.
